Publications
RW Thacker Google Scholar Page
Lavrov DV, Diaz MC, Maldonado M, Morrow CC, Perez T, Pomponi SA, Thacker RW. 2023. Phylomitogenomics bolsters the high-level classification of Demospongiae (phylum Porifera). PLoS ONE 18(12): e0287281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287281
Kelly JB, Carlson DE, Low JS, Thacker RW. 2022. Novel trends of genome evolution in highly complex tropical sponge microbiomes. Microbiome 10:164. doi.org/10.1186/s40168-022-01359-z
Kelly JB, Thacker RW. 2021. New shallow water species of Caribbean Ircinia Nardo, 1883 (Porifera: Irciniidae). Zootaxa 5072(4): 301-323. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5072.4.1
Freeman CJ, Easson CG, Fiore CL, Thacker RW. 2021. Sponge-microbe interactions on coral reefs: multiple evolutionary solutions to a complex environment. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:705053. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.705053
Kelly JB, Carlson DE, Low JS, Rice T, Thacker RW. 2021. The relationship between microbiomes and selective regimes in the sponge genus Ircinia. Frontiers in Microbiology 12:489. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.607289
Freeman CJ, Easson CG, Matterson KO, Thacker RW, Baker DM, Paul VJ. 2020. Microbial symbionts and ecological divergence of Caribbean sponges: a new perspective on an ancient association. The ISME Journal 14(6): 1571-1583. doi: 10.1038/s41396-020-0625-3
Easson CG, Chaves-Fonnegra A, Thacker RW, Lopez JV. 2020. Host population genetics and biogeography structure the microbiome of the sponge Cliona delitrix. Ecology and Evolution 10(4): 2007-2020. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6033
Wilkins LGE, Leray M, O’Dea A, Yuen B, Peixoto RS, Pereira TJ, Bik HM, Coil DA, Duffy JE, Herre EA, Lessios HA, Lucey NM, Mejia LC, Rasher DB, Sharp KH, Sogin EM, Thacker RW, Thurber RV, Wcislo WT, Wilbanks EG, Eisen JA. 2019 Host-associated microbiomes drive structure and function of marine ecosystems. PLoS Biology 17(11): e3000533. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000533
Blank CE, Cui H, Mao J, Moore LR, Thacker RW, Walls RL. 2018. Accelerating the large-scale study of prokaryotic phenotypes and niche space evolution through time using the MicrO ontology, MicroPIE, and MicroPIEDigester software. In: Thessen, AE (Ed.) Application of Semantic Technologies in Biodiversity Science. Studies on the Semantic Web, IOS Press/AKA Verlag. doi: 10.3233/978-1-61499-854-9-151
Moitinho-Silva L, Nielsen S, Amir A, Gonzalez A, Ackermann GL, Cerrano C, Astudillo-Garcia C, Easson C, Sipkema D, Liu F, Steinert G, Kotoulas G, McCormack GP, Feng G, Bell JJ, Vicente J, Björk JR, Montoya JM, Olson JB, Reveillaud J, Steindler L, Pineda M-C Marra MV, Ilan M, Taylor MW, Polymenakou P, Erwin PM, Schupp PJ, Simister RL, Knight R, Thacker RW, Costa R, Hill RT, Lopez-Legentil S, Dailianis T, Ravasi T, Hentschel U, Li Z, Webster NS, Thomas T. 2017. The sponge microbiome project. GigaScience 6: 1-7. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/gix077
Pérez T, Díaz M-C, Ruiz C, Cóndor-Luján B, Klautau M, Hajdu E, Lobo-Hajdu G, Zea S, Pomponi SA, Thacker RW, Carteron S, Tollu G, Pouget-Cuvelier A, Thélamon P, Marechal J-P, Thomas OP, Ereskovsky AV, Vacelet J, Boury-Esnault N. 2017. How a collaborative integrated taxonomic effort has trained new spongiologists and improved knowledge of Martinique Island (French Antilles, eastern Caribbean Sea) marine biodiversity. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0173859. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173859
Thomas T, Moitinho-Silva L, Lurgi M, Björk JR, Easson C, Astudillo-Garcia C, Olson JB, Erwin PM, Lopez-Legentil S, Luter H, Chaves-Fonnegra A, Costa R, Schupp PJ, Steindler L, Erpenbeck D, Gilbert J, Knight R, Ackermann G, Lopez JV, Taylor MW, Thacker RW, Montoya JM, Hentschel U, Webster NS. 2016. Diversity, structure and convergent evolution of the global sponge microbiome. Nature Communications 7: 11870. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11870
Slattery M, Gochfeld DJ, Díaz MC, Thacker RW, Lesser MP. 2016. Variability in chemical defense across a shallow to mesophotic depth gradient in the Caribbean sponge Plakortis angulospiculatus. Coral Reefs 35(1): 11-22. doi: 10.1007/s00338-015-1324-9
Collin R, Fredericq S, Freshwater DW, Gilbert E, Madrid M, Maslakova S, Miglietta MP, Rocha RM, Rodríguez E, Thacker RW. 2016. TaxaGloss - A Glossary and Translation Tool for Biodiversity Studies. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e10732. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e10732
Easson CG, Matterson KO, Freeman CJ, Archer SK, Thacker RW. 2015. Variation in species diversity and functional traits of sponge communities near human populations in Bocas del Toro, Panama. PeerJ 3:e1385. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1385
Baker DM, Freeman CJ, Knowlton N, Thacker RW, Fogel ML. 2015. Productivity links morphology, symbiont specificity and bleaching in the evolution of Caribbean octocoral symbioses. The ISME Journal 9: 2620-2629.
doi: 10.1038/ismej.2015.71
Díaz MC, Thacker RW, Redmond NE, Perez T, Collins AG. 2015. Vansoestia caribensis gen. nov., sp. nov.: first report of the family Ianthellidae (Verongida, Demospongiae) in the Caribbean. Zootaxa 3956(3): 403-412. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3956.3.5
Freeman CJ, Baker DM, Easson CG, Thacker RW. 2015. Shifts in sponge-microbe mutualisms across an experimental irradiance gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series 526: 41-53. doi: 10.3354/meps11249
Deans AR, Lewis SE, Huala E, Anzaldo SS, Ashburner M, Balhoff JP, et al. 2015. Finding Our Way through Phenotypes. PLoS Biology 13(1): e1002033. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002033
Easson CG, Thacker RW. 2014. Phylogenetic signal in the community structure of host-specific microbiomes of tropical marine sponges. Frontiers in Microbiology 5:532. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00532.
Thacker RW, Díaz MC, Kerner A, Vignes-Lebbe R, Segerdell E, Haendel MA, Mungall CJ. 2014. The Porifera Ontology (PORO): enhancing sponge systematics with an anatomy ontology. Journal of Biomedical Semantics 5: 39. doi: 10.1186/2041-1480-5-39.
Koo H, Mojib N, Thacker RW, Bej AK. 2014. Comparative analysis of bacterial community-metagenomics in coastal Gulf of Mexico sediment microcosms following exposure to Macondo oil (MC252). Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. doi: 10.1007/s10482-014-0268-3.
Olson JB, Thacker RW, Gochfeld DJ. 2014. Molecular community profiling reveals impacts of time, space, and disease status on the bacterial community associated with the Caribbean sponge Aplysina cauliformis. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 87(1): 268-279. doi: 10.1111/1574-6941.12222.
GIGA Community Scientists. 2014. The Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance (GIGA): Developing community resources to study diverse invertebrate genomes. Journal of Heredity 105(1): 1-18. doi: 10.1093/jhered/est084.
Easson CG, Slattery M, Momm HG, Olson JB, Thacker RW, Gochfeld DJ. 2013. Exploring Individual- to Population-Level Impacts of Disease on Coral Reef Sponges: Using Spatial Analysis to Assess the Fate, Dynamics, and Transmission of Aplysina Red Band Syndrome (ARBS). PLoS ONE 8(11): e79976. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079976.
Camacho FA, Thacker RW. 2013. Predator cues alter habitat use by the amphipod Hyalella azteca (Saussure). Freshwater Science 32(4):1148-1154. doi: 10.1899/12-176.1.
Burleigh G, Alphonse K, Alverson AJ, Bik HM, Blank C, Cirranello AL, Cui H, Daly M, Dietterich TG, Gasparich G, Irvine J, Julius M, Kaufman S, Law E, Liu J, Moore L, O'Leary MA, Passarotti M, Ranade S, Simmons NB, Stevenson DW, Thacker RW, Theriot EC, Todorovic S, Velazco PM, Walls RL, Wolfe JM, Yu M. 2013. Next-generation phenomics for the tree of life. PLOS Currents Tree of Life. doi: 10.1371/currents.tol.085c713acafc8711b2ff7010a4b03733.
Harmon LJ, Baumes J, Hughes C, Soberon J, Specht CD, Turner W, Lisle C, Thacker RW. 2013. Arbor: Comparative analysis workflows for the tree of life. PLOS Currents Tree of Life. doi: 10.1371/currents.tol.099161de5eabdee073fd3d21a44518dc.
Thacker RW, Hill AL, Hill MS, Redmond NE, Collins AG, Morrow CC, Spicer L, Carmack CA, Zappe ME, Pohlmann D, Hall C, Diaz MC, Bangalore PV. 2013. Nearly complete 28S rRNA gene sequences confirm new hypotheses of sponge evolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 373-387. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict071.
Morrow CC, Redmond NE, Picton BE, Thacker RW, Collins AG, Maggs CA, Sigwart JD, Allcock AL. 2013. Molecular phylogenies support homoplasy of multiple morphological characters used in the taxonomy of Heteroscleromorpha (Porifera: Demospongiae). Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 428-446. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict065.
Redmond NE, Morrow CC, Thacker RW, Diaz MC, Boury-Esnault N, Cardenas P, Hajdu E, Lobo-Hajdu G, Picton BE, Pomponi SA, Kayal E, Collins AG. 2013. Phylogeny and systematics of Demospongiae in light of new small-subunit ribosomal DNA (18S) Sequences. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 388-415. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict078.
Diaz MC, Thacker RW, Redmond NE, Matterson KO, Collins AG. 2013. Phylogenetic novelties and geographic anomalies among tropical Verongida. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 482-494. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict033.
Alvizu A, Diaz MC, Bastidas C, Rützler K, Thacker RW, Marquez LM. 2013. A skeleton-less sponge of Caribbean mangroves: invasive or undescribed? Invertebrate Biology 132(2): 81-94. doi: 10.1111/ivb.12015.
Huang JP, Swain AK, Thacker RW, Ravindra R, Andersen DT, Bej AK. 2013. Bacterial diversity of the rock-water interface in an East Antarctic freshwater ecosystem, Lake Tawani. Aquatic Biosystems 9:4. doi: 10.1186/2046-9063-9-4.
Freeman CJ, Thacker RW, Baker DM, Fogel ML. 2013. Quality or quantity: is nutrient transfer driven more by symbiont identity and productivity than by symbiont abundance? The International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal 7(6): 1116-1125. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2013.7.
Hill MS, Hill AL, Lopez J, Peterson KJ, Pomponi S, Diaz MC, Thacker RW, Adamska M, Boury-Esnault N, Cárdenas P, Chaves-Fonnegra A, Danka E, De Laine B, Formica D, Hajdu E, Lobo-Hajdu G, Klontz S, Morrow CC, Patel J, Picton B, Pisani D, Pohlmann D, Redmond NE, Reed J, Richey S, Riesgo A, Rubin E, Russell Z, Rützler K, Sperling EA, di Stefano M, Tarver JE, Collins AG. 2013. Reconstruction of family-level phylogenetic relationships within Demospongiae (Porifera) using nuclear encoded housekeeping genes. PLoS ONE 8(1):e50437. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050437.
Shirey TB, Thacker RW, Olson JB. 2012. Composition and stability of bacterial communities associated with granular activated carbon and anthracite filters in a pilot scale municipal drinking water treatment facility. Journal of Water and Health 10(2): 244-255. doi: 10.2166/wh.2012.092.
Thacker RW, Freeman CJ. 2012. Sponge-microbe symbioses: Recent advances and new directions. Advances in Marine Biology 62: 57-111. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394283-8.00002-3
Gochfeld DJ, Easson CG, Freeman CJ, Thacker RW, Olson JB. 2012. Disease and nutrient enrichment as potential stressors on the Caribbean sponge Aplysina cauliformis and its bacterial symbionts. Marine Ecology Progress Series 456: 101-111. doi: 10.3354/meps09716
Gochfeld DJ, Kamel HN, Olson JB, Thacker RW. 2012. Trade-offs in defensive metabolite production but not ecological function in healthy and diseased sponges. Journal of Chemical Ecology 38: 451-462.
Erwin PM, Olson JB, Thacker RW. 2011. Phylogenetic diversity, host-specificity, and community profiling of sponge-associated bacteria in the northern Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE 6(11): e26806. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026806.
Freeman CJ, Thacker RW. 2011. Complex interactions between marine sponges and their symbiotic microbial communities. Limnology and Oceanography 56(5): 1577-1586. doi:10.4319/lo.2011.56.5.1577
Thacker RW, Diaz MC, de Voogd NJ, van Soest RWM, Freeman CJ, Mobley AS, LaPietra J, Cope K, McKenna S. 2010. Assessment of sponge biodiversity on Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles. PLoS ONE 5(5): e9622. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009622.
Collin R, Mobley AS, Lopez LB, Leys SP, Diaz MC, Thacker RW. 2010. Phototactic responses of larvae from the marine sponges Neopetrosia proxima and Xestospongia bocatorensis (Haplosclerida: Petrosiidae). Invertebrate Biology 129(2): 121-128.
Sharp K, Arthur KE, Gu L, Ross C, Harrison G, Gunasekera SP, Meickle T, Matthew S, Luesch H, Thacker RW, Sherman DH, Paul VJ. 2009. Phylogenetic and chemical diversity of three chemotypes of bloom-forming Lyngbya species (Cyanobacteria: Oscillatoriales) from reefs of Southeastern Florida. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 75(9): 2879-2888.
Slattery M, Kamel HN, Ankisetty S, Gochfeld DJ, Hoover CA, Thacker RW. 2008. Hybrid vigor in a tropical Pacific soft coral community. Ecological Monographs 78(3): 423-443.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2008. Cryptic diversity of the symbiotic cyanobacterium Synechococcus spongiarum among sponge hosts. Molecular Ecology 17: 2937-2947.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2008. Phototrophic nutrition and symbiont diversity of two Caribbean sponge-cyanobacteria symbioses. Marine Ecology Progress Series 362: 139-147.
Taylor MW, Thacker RW, Hentschel U. 2007. Evolutionary insights from sponges. Science 316: 1854-1855.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2007. Incidence and identity of photosynthetic symbionts in Caribbean coral reef sponge communities. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87: 1683-1692.
Thacker RW, Diaz MC, Rützler K, Erwin PM, Kimble SJA, Pierce MJ, Dillard SL. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships among the filamentous cyanobacterial symbionts of Caribbean sponges and a comparison of photosynthetic production between sponges hosting filamentous and unicellular cyanobacteria. In: Custódio MR, Lôbo-Hajdu G, Hajdu E, Muricy G (eds.). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability, Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. pp. 621-626.
Diaz MC, Thacker RW, Rützler K, Piantoni C. 2007. Haliclona (Soestella) walentinae (Chalinidae, Haplosclerida) and Xestospongia bocatorensis (Petrosiidae, Haplosclerida), two new sponge species from Caribbean Panamá with filamentous cyanobacterial symbionts. In: Custódio MR, Lôbo-Hajdu G, Hajdu E, Muricy G (eds.). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability, Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. pp. 31-36.
Gochfeld DJ, Schlöder C, Thacker RW. 2007. Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on sponge community structure and disease prevalence in Bocas del Toro, Panamá. In: Custódio MR, Lôbo-Hajdu G, Hajdu E, Muricy G (eds.). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability, Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. pp. 335-343.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2007. Phylogenetic analyses of marine sponges within the order Verongida: a comparison of morphological and molecular data. Invertebrate Biology 126(3): 220-234.
Taylor MW, Hill RT, Piel J, Thacker RW, Hentschel U. 2007. Soaking it up: the complex lives of marine sponges and their microbial associates. The International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal 1(3): 187-190.
Thacker RW, Camacho FA. 2007. Invertebrate herbivores induce saxitoxin production in Lyngbya wollei. In: Hudnell HK (ed.) Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms: State of the Science and Research Needs, Advances in Experimental Medicine & Biology 619: 312-313.
Camacho FA, Thacker RW. 2006. Amphipod herbivory on the freshwater cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei: chemical stimulants and morphological defenses. Limnology and Oceanography 51: 1870-1875.
Thacker RW, McLeod AM, McLeod SW. 2005. Herbivore-induced saxitoxin production in the freshwater cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei. Algological Studies 117: 415-425.
Paul VJ, Thacker RW, Banks K, Golubic S. 2005. Benthic cyanobacterial bloom impacts the reefs of South Florida (Broward County, USA). Coral Reefs 24: 693-697.
Flatt PM, Gautschi JT, Thacker RW, Musafija-Girt M, Crews P, Gerwick WH. 2005. Identification of the cellular site of polychlorinated peptide biosynthesis in the sponge Dysidea (Lamellodysidea) herbacea and symbiotic cyanobacterium Oscillatoria spongeliae by CARD-FISH analysis. Marine Biology 147: 761-774.
Thacker RW. 2005. Impacts of shading on sponge-cyanobacteria symbioses: a comparison between host-specific and generalist associations. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45: 369-376.
Sotka EE, Thacker RW. 2005. Do some corals like it hot? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20(2): 59-62.
Thacker RW. 2004. Biodiversity. Journal of Natural Products 67(9): 1636.
Thacker RW, Paul VJ. 2004. Morphological, chemical, and genetic diversity of tropical marine cyanobacteria, Lyngbya spp. and Symploca spp. (Oscillatoriales). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70(6): 3305-3312.
Thacker RW, Starnes S. 2003. Host specificity of symbiotic cyanobacteria, Oscillatoria spongeliae, in marine sponges, Dysidea spp. Marine Biology 142: 643-648.
Becerro MA, Thacker RW, Turon X, Uriz MJ, Paul VJ. 2003. Biogeography of sponge chemical ecology: comparisons of tropical and temperate defenses. Oecologia 135: 91-101.
Thacker RW, Paul VJ. 2001. Are benthic cyanobacteria indicators of nutrient enrichment? Relationships between cyanobacterial abundance and environmental factors on the reef flats of Guam. Bulletin of Marine Science 69: 497-508.
Thacker RW, Ginsburg DW, Paul VJ. 2001. Effects of herbivore exclusion and nutrient enrichment on coral reef macroalgae and cyanobacteria. Coral Reefs 19: 318-329.
Paul VJ, Cruz-Rivera E, Thacker RW. 2001. Chemical mediation of seaweed-herbivore interactions: ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Pages 227-265 in: J. McClintock and B. Baker (editors). Marine Chemical Ecology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Hazlett BA, Bach CE, McLay C, Thacker RW. 2000. A comparative study of the defense syndromes of New Zealand marine crustacea. Crustaceana 73 (8): 899-912.
Thacker RW, Hadfield MG. 2000. A mitochondrial phylogeny of extant Hawaiian tree snails. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 16: 263-270.
Giménez-Casalduero F, Thacker RW, Paul VJ. 1999. Association of color and feeding deterrence by tropical reef fishes. Chemoecology 9: 33-39.
Thacker RW, Becerro MA, Lumbang WA, Paul VJ. 1998. Allelopathic interactions between sponges on a tropical reef. Ecology 79(5): 1740-1750.
Thacker RW. 1998. Avoidance of recently eaten foods by land hermit crabs, Coenobita compressus. Animal Behavior 55: 485-496.
Thacker RW, Nagle DG, Paul VJ. 1997. Effects of repeated exposures to marine cyanobacterial secondary metabolites on feeding by juvenile rabbitfish and parrotfish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 147: 21-29.
Thacker RW. 1996. Food choices of land hermit crabs (Coenobita compressus H. Milne Edwards) depend on past experience. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 199: 179-191.
Thacker RW. 1994. Volatile shell-investigation cues of land hermit crabs: effect of shell fit, detection of cues from other hermit crab species, and cue isolation. Journal of Chemical Ecology 20 (7): 1457-1482.
Small MP, Thacker RW. 1994. Land hermit crabs use odors of dead conspecifics to locate shell sources. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 182: 169-182.
Thacker RW, Hazlett BA, Esman LA, Stafford CP, Keller T. 1993. Color morphs of the crayfish Orconectes virilis. American Midland Naturalist 129 (1): 182-199.
RW Thacker Google Scholar Page
Lavrov DV, Diaz MC, Maldonado M, Morrow CC, Perez T, Pomponi SA, Thacker RW. 2023. Phylomitogenomics bolsters the high-level classification of Demospongiae (phylum Porifera). PLoS ONE 18(12): e0287281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287281
Kelly JB, Carlson DE, Low JS, Thacker RW. 2022. Novel trends of genome evolution in highly complex tropical sponge microbiomes. Microbiome 10:164. doi.org/10.1186/s40168-022-01359-z
Kelly JB, Thacker RW. 2021. New shallow water species of Caribbean Ircinia Nardo, 1883 (Porifera: Irciniidae). Zootaxa 5072(4): 301-323. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5072.4.1
Freeman CJ, Easson CG, Fiore CL, Thacker RW. 2021. Sponge-microbe interactions on coral reefs: multiple evolutionary solutions to a complex environment. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:705053. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.705053
Kelly JB, Carlson DE, Low JS, Rice T, Thacker RW. 2021. The relationship between microbiomes and selective regimes in the sponge genus Ircinia. Frontiers in Microbiology 12:489. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.607289
Freeman CJ, Easson CG, Matterson KO, Thacker RW, Baker DM, Paul VJ. 2020. Microbial symbionts and ecological divergence of Caribbean sponges: a new perspective on an ancient association. The ISME Journal 14(6): 1571-1583. doi: 10.1038/s41396-020-0625-3
Easson CG, Chaves-Fonnegra A, Thacker RW, Lopez JV. 2020. Host population genetics and biogeography structure the microbiome of the sponge Cliona delitrix. Ecology and Evolution 10(4): 2007-2020. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6033
Wilkins LGE, Leray M, O’Dea A, Yuen B, Peixoto RS, Pereira TJ, Bik HM, Coil DA, Duffy JE, Herre EA, Lessios HA, Lucey NM, Mejia LC, Rasher DB, Sharp KH, Sogin EM, Thacker RW, Thurber RV, Wcislo WT, Wilbanks EG, Eisen JA. 2019 Host-associated microbiomes drive structure and function of marine ecosystems. PLoS Biology 17(11): e3000533. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000533
Blank CE, Cui H, Mao J, Moore LR, Thacker RW, Walls RL. 2018. Accelerating the large-scale study of prokaryotic phenotypes and niche space evolution through time using the MicrO ontology, MicroPIE, and MicroPIEDigester software. In: Thessen, AE (Ed.) Application of Semantic Technologies in Biodiversity Science. Studies on the Semantic Web, IOS Press/AKA Verlag. doi: 10.3233/978-1-61499-854-9-151
Moitinho-Silva L, Nielsen S, Amir A, Gonzalez A, Ackermann GL, Cerrano C, Astudillo-Garcia C, Easson C, Sipkema D, Liu F, Steinert G, Kotoulas G, McCormack GP, Feng G, Bell JJ, Vicente J, Björk JR, Montoya JM, Olson JB, Reveillaud J, Steindler L, Pineda M-C Marra MV, Ilan M, Taylor MW, Polymenakou P, Erwin PM, Schupp PJ, Simister RL, Knight R, Thacker RW, Costa R, Hill RT, Lopez-Legentil S, Dailianis T, Ravasi T, Hentschel U, Li Z, Webster NS, Thomas T. 2017. The sponge microbiome project. GigaScience 6: 1-7. doi: 10.1093/gigascience/gix077
Pérez T, Díaz M-C, Ruiz C, Cóndor-Luján B, Klautau M, Hajdu E, Lobo-Hajdu G, Zea S, Pomponi SA, Thacker RW, Carteron S, Tollu G, Pouget-Cuvelier A, Thélamon P, Marechal J-P, Thomas OP, Ereskovsky AV, Vacelet J, Boury-Esnault N. 2017. How a collaborative integrated taxonomic effort has trained new spongiologists and improved knowledge of Martinique Island (French Antilles, eastern Caribbean Sea) marine biodiversity. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0173859. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173859
Thomas T, Moitinho-Silva L, Lurgi M, Björk JR, Easson C, Astudillo-Garcia C, Olson JB, Erwin PM, Lopez-Legentil S, Luter H, Chaves-Fonnegra A, Costa R, Schupp PJ, Steindler L, Erpenbeck D, Gilbert J, Knight R, Ackermann G, Lopez JV, Taylor MW, Thacker RW, Montoya JM, Hentschel U, Webster NS. 2016. Diversity, structure and convergent evolution of the global sponge microbiome. Nature Communications 7: 11870. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11870
Slattery M, Gochfeld DJ, Díaz MC, Thacker RW, Lesser MP. 2016. Variability in chemical defense across a shallow to mesophotic depth gradient in the Caribbean sponge Plakortis angulospiculatus. Coral Reefs 35(1): 11-22. doi: 10.1007/s00338-015-1324-9
Collin R, Fredericq S, Freshwater DW, Gilbert E, Madrid M, Maslakova S, Miglietta MP, Rocha RM, Rodríguez E, Thacker RW. 2016. TaxaGloss - A Glossary and Translation Tool for Biodiversity Studies. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e10732. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e10732
Easson CG, Matterson KO, Freeman CJ, Archer SK, Thacker RW. 2015. Variation in species diversity and functional traits of sponge communities near human populations in Bocas del Toro, Panama. PeerJ 3:e1385. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1385
Baker DM, Freeman CJ, Knowlton N, Thacker RW, Fogel ML. 2015. Productivity links morphology, symbiont specificity and bleaching in the evolution of Caribbean octocoral symbioses. The ISME Journal 9: 2620-2629.
doi: 10.1038/ismej.2015.71
Díaz MC, Thacker RW, Redmond NE, Perez T, Collins AG. 2015. Vansoestia caribensis gen. nov., sp. nov.: first report of the family Ianthellidae (Verongida, Demospongiae) in the Caribbean. Zootaxa 3956(3): 403-412. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3956.3.5
Freeman CJ, Baker DM, Easson CG, Thacker RW. 2015. Shifts in sponge-microbe mutualisms across an experimental irradiance gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series 526: 41-53. doi: 10.3354/meps11249
Deans AR, Lewis SE, Huala E, Anzaldo SS, Ashburner M, Balhoff JP, et al. 2015. Finding Our Way through Phenotypes. PLoS Biology 13(1): e1002033. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002033
Easson CG, Thacker RW. 2014. Phylogenetic signal in the community structure of host-specific microbiomes of tropical marine sponges. Frontiers in Microbiology 5:532. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00532.
Thacker RW, Díaz MC, Kerner A, Vignes-Lebbe R, Segerdell E, Haendel MA, Mungall CJ. 2014. The Porifera Ontology (PORO): enhancing sponge systematics with an anatomy ontology. Journal of Biomedical Semantics 5: 39. doi: 10.1186/2041-1480-5-39.
Koo H, Mojib N, Thacker RW, Bej AK. 2014. Comparative analysis of bacterial community-metagenomics in coastal Gulf of Mexico sediment microcosms following exposure to Macondo oil (MC252). Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. doi: 10.1007/s10482-014-0268-3.
Olson JB, Thacker RW, Gochfeld DJ. 2014. Molecular community profiling reveals impacts of time, space, and disease status on the bacterial community associated with the Caribbean sponge Aplysina cauliformis. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 87(1): 268-279. doi: 10.1111/1574-6941.12222.
GIGA Community Scientists. 2014. The Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance (GIGA): Developing community resources to study diverse invertebrate genomes. Journal of Heredity 105(1): 1-18. doi: 10.1093/jhered/est084.
Easson CG, Slattery M, Momm HG, Olson JB, Thacker RW, Gochfeld DJ. 2013. Exploring Individual- to Population-Level Impacts of Disease on Coral Reef Sponges: Using Spatial Analysis to Assess the Fate, Dynamics, and Transmission of Aplysina Red Band Syndrome (ARBS). PLoS ONE 8(11): e79976. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079976.
Camacho FA, Thacker RW. 2013. Predator cues alter habitat use by the amphipod Hyalella azteca (Saussure). Freshwater Science 32(4):1148-1154. doi: 10.1899/12-176.1.
Burleigh G, Alphonse K, Alverson AJ, Bik HM, Blank C, Cirranello AL, Cui H, Daly M, Dietterich TG, Gasparich G, Irvine J, Julius M, Kaufman S, Law E, Liu J, Moore L, O'Leary MA, Passarotti M, Ranade S, Simmons NB, Stevenson DW, Thacker RW, Theriot EC, Todorovic S, Velazco PM, Walls RL, Wolfe JM, Yu M. 2013. Next-generation phenomics for the tree of life. PLOS Currents Tree of Life. doi: 10.1371/currents.tol.085c713acafc8711b2ff7010a4b03733.
Harmon LJ, Baumes J, Hughes C, Soberon J, Specht CD, Turner W, Lisle C, Thacker RW. 2013. Arbor: Comparative analysis workflows for the tree of life. PLOS Currents Tree of Life. doi: 10.1371/currents.tol.099161de5eabdee073fd3d21a44518dc.
Thacker RW, Hill AL, Hill MS, Redmond NE, Collins AG, Morrow CC, Spicer L, Carmack CA, Zappe ME, Pohlmann D, Hall C, Diaz MC, Bangalore PV. 2013. Nearly complete 28S rRNA gene sequences confirm new hypotheses of sponge evolution. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 373-387. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict071.
Morrow CC, Redmond NE, Picton BE, Thacker RW, Collins AG, Maggs CA, Sigwart JD, Allcock AL. 2013. Molecular phylogenies support homoplasy of multiple morphological characters used in the taxonomy of Heteroscleromorpha (Porifera: Demospongiae). Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 428-446. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict065.
Redmond NE, Morrow CC, Thacker RW, Diaz MC, Boury-Esnault N, Cardenas P, Hajdu E, Lobo-Hajdu G, Picton BE, Pomponi SA, Kayal E, Collins AG. 2013. Phylogeny and systematics of Demospongiae in light of new small-subunit ribosomal DNA (18S) Sequences. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 388-415. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict078.
Diaz MC, Thacker RW, Redmond NE, Matterson KO, Collins AG. 2013. Phylogenetic novelties and geographic anomalies among tropical Verongida. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(3): 482-494. doi: 10.1093/icb/ict033.
Alvizu A, Diaz MC, Bastidas C, Rützler K, Thacker RW, Marquez LM. 2013. A skeleton-less sponge of Caribbean mangroves: invasive or undescribed? Invertebrate Biology 132(2): 81-94. doi: 10.1111/ivb.12015.
Huang JP, Swain AK, Thacker RW, Ravindra R, Andersen DT, Bej AK. 2013. Bacterial diversity of the rock-water interface in an East Antarctic freshwater ecosystem, Lake Tawani. Aquatic Biosystems 9:4. doi: 10.1186/2046-9063-9-4.
Freeman CJ, Thacker RW, Baker DM, Fogel ML. 2013. Quality or quantity: is nutrient transfer driven more by symbiont identity and productivity than by symbiont abundance? The International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal 7(6): 1116-1125. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2013.7.
Hill MS, Hill AL, Lopez J, Peterson KJ, Pomponi S, Diaz MC, Thacker RW, Adamska M, Boury-Esnault N, Cárdenas P, Chaves-Fonnegra A, Danka E, De Laine B, Formica D, Hajdu E, Lobo-Hajdu G, Klontz S, Morrow CC, Patel J, Picton B, Pisani D, Pohlmann D, Redmond NE, Reed J, Richey S, Riesgo A, Rubin E, Russell Z, Rützler K, Sperling EA, di Stefano M, Tarver JE, Collins AG. 2013. Reconstruction of family-level phylogenetic relationships within Demospongiae (Porifera) using nuclear encoded housekeeping genes. PLoS ONE 8(1):e50437. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050437.
Shirey TB, Thacker RW, Olson JB. 2012. Composition and stability of bacterial communities associated with granular activated carbon and anthracite filters in a pilot scale municipal drinking water treatment facility. Journal of Water and Health 10(2): 244-255. doi: 10.2166/wh.2012.092.
Thacker RW, Freeman CJ. 2012. Sponge-microbe symbioses: Recent advances and new directions. Advances in Marine Biology 62: 57-111. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394283-8.00002-3
Gochfeld DJ, Easson CG, Freeman CJ, Thacker RW, Olson JB. 2012. Disease and nutrient enrichment as potential stressors on the Caribbean sponge Aplysina cauliformis and its bacterial symbionts. Marine Ecology Progress Series 456: 101-111. doi: 10.3354/meps09716
Gochfeld DJ, Kamel HN, Olson JB, Thacker RW. 2012. Trade-offs in defensive metabolite production but not ecological function in healthy and diseased sponges. Journal of Chemical Ecology 38: 451-462.
Erwin PM, Olson JB, Thacker RW. 2011. Phylogenetic diversity, host-specificity, and community profiling of sponge-associated bacteria in the northern Gulf of Mexico. PLoS ONE 6(11): e26806. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0026806.
Freeman CJ, Thacker RW. 2011. Complex interactions between marine sponges and their symbiotic microbial communities. Limnology and Oceanography 56(5): 1577-1586. doi:10.4319/lo.2011.56.5.1577
Thacker RW, Diaz MC, de Voogd NJ, van Soest RWM, Freeman CJ, Mobley AS, LaPietra J, Cope K, McKenna S. 2010. Assessment of sponge biodiversity on Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles. PLoS ONE 5(5): e9622. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009622.
Collin R, Mobley AS, Lopez LB, Leys SP, Diaz MC, Thacker RW. 2010. Phototactic responses of larvae from the marine sponges Neopetrosia proxima and Xestospongia bocatorensis (Haplosclerida: Petrosiidae). Invertebrate Biology 129(2): 121-128.
Sharp K, Arthur KE, Gu L, Ross C, Harrison G, Gunasekera SP, Meickle T, Matthew S, Luesch H, Thacker RW, Sherman DH, Paul VJ. 2009. Phylogenetic and chemical diversity of three chemotypes of bloom-forming Lyngbya species (Cyanobacteria: Oscillatoriales) from reefs of Southeastern Florida. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 75(9): 2879-2888.
Slattery M, Kamel HN, Ankisetty S, Gochfeld DJ, Hoover CA, Thacker RW. 2008. Hybrid vigor in a tropical Pacific soft coral community. Ecological Monographs 78(3): 423-443.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2008. Cryptic diversity of the symbiotic cyanobacterium Synechococcus spongiarum among sponge hosts. Molecular Ecology 17: 2937-2947.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2008. Phototrophic nutrition and symbiont diversity of two Caribbean sponge-cyanobacteria symbioses. Marine Ecology Progress Series 362: 139-147.
Taylor MW, Thacker RW, Hentschel U. 2007. Evolutionary insights from sponges. Science 316: 1854-1855.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2007. Incidence and identity of photosynthetic symbionts in Caribbean coral reef sponge communities. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87: 1683-1692.
Thacker RW, Diaz MC, Rützler K, Erwin PM, Kimble SJA, Pierce MJ, Dillard SL. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships among the filamentous cyanobacterial symbionts of Caribbean sponges and a comparison of photosynthetic production between sponges hosting filamentous and unicellular cyanobacteria. In: Custódio MR, Lôbo-Hajdu G, Hajdu E, Muricy G (eds.). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability, Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. pp. 621-626.
Diaz MC, Thacker RW, Rützler K, Piantoni C. 2007. Haliclona (Soestella) walentinae (Chalinidae, Haplosclerida) and Xestospongia bocatorensis (Petrosiidae, Haplosclerida), two new sponge species from Caribbean Panamá with filamentous cyanobacterial symbionts. In: Custódio MR, Lôbo-Hajdu G, Hajdu E, Muricy G (eds.). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability, Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. pp. 31-36.
Gochfeld DJ, Schlöder C, Thacker RW. 2007. Effects of anthropogenic disturbance on sponge community structure and disease prevalence in Bocas del Toro, Panamá. In: Custódio MR, Lôbo-Hajdu G, Hajdu E, Muricy G (eds.). Porifera Research: Biodiversity, Innovation, and Sustainability, Série Livros 28. Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. pp. 335-343.
Erwin PM, Thacker RW. 2007. Phylogenetic analyses of marine sponges within the order Verongida: a comparison of morphological and molecular data. Invertebrate Biology 126(3): 220-234.
Taylor MW, Hill RT, Piel J, Thacker RW, Hentschel U. 2007. Soaking it up: the complex lives of marine sponges and their microbial associates. The International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal 1(3): 187-190.
Thacker RW, Camacho FA. 2007. Invertebrate herbivores induce saxitoxin production in Lyngbya wollei. In: Hudnell HK (ed.) Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms: State of the Science and Research Needs, Advances in Experimental Medicine & Biology 619: 312-313.
Camacho FA, Thacker RW. 2006. Amphipod herbivory on the freshwater cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei: chemical stimulants and morphological defenses. Limnology and Oceanography 51: 1870-1875.
Thacker RW, McLeod AM, McLeod SW. 2005. Herbivore-induced saxitoxin production in the freshwater cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei. Algological Studies 117: 415-425.
Paul VJ, Thacker RW, Banks K, Golubic S. 2005. Benthic cyanobacterial bloom impacts the reefs of South Florida (Broward County, USA). Coral Reefs 24: 693-697.
Flatt PM, Gautschi JT, Thacker RW, Musafija-Girt M, Crews P, Gerwick WH. 2005. Identification of the cellular site of polychlorinated peptide biosynthesis in the sponge Dysidea (Lamellodysidea) herbacea and symbiotic cyanobacterium Oscillatoria spongeliae by CARD-FISH analysis. Marine Biology 147: 761-774.
Thacker RW. 2005. Impacts of shading on sponge-cyanobacteria symbioses: a comparison between host-specific and generalist associations. Integrative and Comparative Biology 45: 369-376.
Sotka EE, Thacker RW. 2005. Do some corals like it hot? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 20(2): 59-62.
Thacker RW. 2004. Biodiversity. Journal of Natural Products 67(9): 1636.
Thacker RW, Paul VJ. 2004. Morphological, chemical, and genetic diversity of tropical marine cyanobacteria, Lyngbya spp. and Symploca spp. (Oscillatoriales). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70(6): 3305-3312.
Thacker RW, Starnes S. 2003. Host specificity of symbiotic cyanobacteria, Oscillatoria spongeliae, in marine sponges, Dysidea spp. Marine Biology 142: 643-648.
Becerro MA, Thacker RW, Turon X, Uriz MJ, Paul VJ. 2003. Biogeography of sponge chemical ecology: comparisons of tropical and temperate defenses. Oecologia 135: 91-101.
Thacker RW, Paul VJ. 2001. Are benthic cyanobacteria indicators of nutrient enrichment? Relationships between cyanobacterial abundance and environmental factors on the reef flats of Guam. Bulletin of Marine Science 69: 497-508.
Thacker RW, Ginsburg DW, Paul VJ. 2001. Effects of herbivore exclusion and nutrient enrichment on coral reef macroalgae and cyanobacteria. Coral Reefs 19: 318-329.
Paul VJ, Cruz-Rivera E, Thacker RW. 2001. Chemical mediation of seaweed-herbivore interactions: ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Pages 227-265 in: J. McClintock and B. Baker (editors). Marine Chemical Ecology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Hazlett BA, Bach CE, McLay C, Thacker RW. 2000. A comparative study of the defense syndromes of New Zealand marine crustacea. Crustaceana 73 (8): 899-912.
Thacker RW, Hadfield MG. 2000. A mitochondrial phylogeny of extant Hawaiian tree snails. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 16: 263-270.
Giménez-Casalduero F, Thacker RW, Paul VJ. 1999. Association of color and feeding deterrence by tropical reef fishes. Chemoecology 9: 33-39.
Thacker RW, Becerro MA, Lumbang WA, Paul VJ. 1998. Allelopathic interactions between sponges on a tropical reef. Ecology 79(5): 1740-1750.
Thacker RW. 1998. Avoidance of recently eaten foods by land hermit crabs, Coenobita compressus. Animal Behavior 55: 485-496.
Thacker RW, Nagle DG, Paul VJ. 1997. Effects of repeated exposures to marine cyanobacterial secondary metabolites on feeding by juvenile rabbitfish and parrotfish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 147: 21-29.
Thacker RW. 1996. Food choices of land hermit crabs (Coenobita compressus H. Milne Edwards) depend on past experience. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 199: 179-191.
Thacker RW. 1994. Volatile shell-investigation cues of land hermit crabs: effect of shell fit, detection of cues from other hermit crab species, and cue isolation. Journal of Chemical Ecology 20 (7): 1457-1482.
Small MP, Thacker RW. 1994. Land hermit crabs use odors of dead conspecifics to locate shell sources. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 182: 169-182.
Thacker RW, Hazlett BA, Esman LA, Stafford CP, Keller T. 1993. Color morphs of the crayfish Orconectes virilis. American Midland Naturalist 129 (1): 182-199.